Romania drug producers want lower tax for cheap medicine

Romanians can buy fewer and fewer cheap drugs in local pharmacies, as the clawback tax went up by 50% in the last two years, according to pharma industry experts. Some 170 drugs which cost below RON 25 (the equivalent of EUR 5.4) are no longer available in drugstores. Romanian drug producers, which make about 75% of these inexpensive drugs, are asking the Government to exempt such drugs from the clawback tax. “It is a vulnerability for the pharma industry in Romania, which loses its competitive edge and for consumers, which lack locally made alternatives,” according to the Association of Drug Producers in Romania PRIMER, reports local Ziarul Financiar. The association represents 16 drug factories in Romania. Romanians bought EUR 3 billion worth of drugs between July 2016 and June 2017, a 10% year-on-year growth. This is a comeback for the drug marked, according to market research company Cegedim. All drug producers in Romania pay a tax to finance the public health system in the country. editor@romania-insider.com